J. J. Wilcox
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James Edward "J. J." Wilcox, Jr. (born February 14, 1991) is a former
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...
. He was drafted by the
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
in the third round of the
2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...
. He played college football at
Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hi ...
. He has also played for the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
, Pittsburgh Steelers, New York Jets, Indianapolis Colts, and Atlanta Falcons.


Early years

Wilcox was born in
Cairo, Georgia Cairo () is a city in Grady County, Georgia, Grady County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 10,179. The city is the county seat of Grady County. History C ...
. He attended Cairo High School, where he played wide receiver and free safety. As a senior, he registered 22 receptions for 400 yards, 5
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s, 77 tackles, one interception and 3 forced fumbles, while helping the Cairo Syrupmakers win the 2008 state championship. He received first-team All-region and first-team All-area honors at wide receiver.


College career

Coming out of high school, Wilcox was not a highly sought after prospect and planned onto walking onto Georgia Southern's football team after not receiving a scholarship offer. Georgia Southern only offered a scholarship after Samford had extended a scholarship offer to Wilcox a week before national signing day. Wilcox attended
Georgia Southern University Georgia Southern University (GS or Georgia Southern) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia. The flagship campus is in Statesboro, and other locations include the Armstrong Campus in Savannah and the Liberty Campus in Hi ...
, where he played for the
Georgia Southern Eagles football The Georgia Southern Eagles football program represents Georgia Southern University in football as part of the Sun Belt Conference. The current head coach is Clay Helton. The Eagles have won six FCS (I-AA) national championships and have produce ...
team from 2009 to 2012. He started off his career as a wide receiver, tallying 16 receptions for 179 yards and 3 tackles on defense. As a sophomore, he was moved to
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...
. He started 14 out of 15 games, registering 85 carries for 484 yards (5.7-yard average), 6 rushing
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s, 22 receptions (led the team) for 551 yards, 25.02-yard average per reception (school record), 3 receiving
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s and 2 tackles on defense. Against the
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT-Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is one of four universities and two other affiliated institutions in the ...
, he had 121 receiving yards, including a 63-yard catch. Against Furman University, he had 107 receiving yards. As a junior, he started 8 out of 13 games, posting 52 carries for 480 yards (9.2-yard average), 7 rushing
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s, 7 receptions for 168 yards and one receiving
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
. Against
Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU was founded ...
, he had 115 rushing yards and 2
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s. Against the
University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...
, he collected 99 rushing yards and 2
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...
s. As a senior, he was moved
safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...
. He started 13 out of 14 games, finishing second on the team with 88 tackles, two interceptions, three pass breakups and one blocked punt. He also returned 31 kicks for 780 yards and averaged 25.2 yards per kickoff return. Against Samford University, he had 12 tackles.


Professional career

On December 4, 2012, it was reported that Wilcox had accepted his invitation to play in the 2013 Senior Bowl. He became the second player from Georgia Southern to appear in the Senior Bowl, the first being Adrian Peterson in 2002. Under Detroit Lions' head coach
Jim Schwartz James J. Schwartz (born June 2, 1966) is an American football coach who is a Senior Defensive Assistant for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League (NFL). He was head coach of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL) ...
, he had impressive performances in practice during the week leading up to the Senior Bowl. On January 26, 2013, Wilcox recorded two combined tackles to help the South defeat the North 21–16. As a top safety prospect, Wilcox received an invitation to the
NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foo ...
and completed all of the required combine drills and positional drills. Amongst all safeties, Wilcox finished sixth in the short shuttle, eighth in the
40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a h ...
, and ninth in the broad jump. On March 15, 2013, he participated at Georgia Southern's pro day. Satisfied with his performance at the NFL combine, he chose to only perform positional drills. Team representatives and scouts from 22 NFL teams attended Georgia Southern's pro day. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Wilcox was projected to be a third round pick by the majority of NFL analysts and scouts. Wilcox was ranked the third best strong safety prospect available in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com, the fifth best safety by NFL analyst
Josh Norris Joshua Norris (born May 5, 1999) is an American professional ice hockey center currently playing for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted in the first round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft by the San Jose Sharks a ...
, and the sixth best safety by NFL analyst Mike Mayock.


Dallas Cowboys

The
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
selected Wilcox in the third round (80th overall) of the
2013 NFL Draft The 2013 NFL Draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall ...
. He was the seventh safety selected in 2013.


2013

On June 18, 2013, the Dallas Cowboys signed Wilcox to a four-year, $2.81 million contract. He competed with Will Allen,
Jeff Heath John Geoffrey Heath (April 1, 1915 – December 9, 1975) was a Canadian-born American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his career for the Cleveland Indians. He was one of the American League's most promising power ...
, Matt Johnson, and
Brandon Underwood Brandon Dante Underwood (born June 24, 1986) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft and would later be a part of their Super Bowl XLV championship team over the Pi ...
for the job as the starting free safety left by the departure Gerald Sensabaugh. The Dallas Cowboys were going to name him starting free safety during
training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events, ...
, but the unexpected death of his mother slowed his progress due to a two-week absence. Head coach
Jason Garrett Jason Calvin Garrett (born March 28, 1966) is a former American football player and coach and current broadcaster. He previously served as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys for the 2010s from 2010-2019. Garrett has also been offensive coordi ...
decided to name veteran Will Allen the starter instead to start the regular season instead. He made his professional regular season debut in the Dallas Cowboys' season-opener against the New York Giants and assisted on one tackle during their 36–31 win. On September 22, 2013, Wilcox earned his first career start at free safety and recorded three combined tackles in the Cowboys' 31–7 victory over the
St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...
. During a Week 5 matchup against the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
, Wilcox made a season-high eight combined tackles in a 51–48 loss. He started five consecutive games, until suffering a sprained right knee in practice, that forced him to miss three games (Weeks 8-10). The injury occurred during red zone drills as he was defending a pass against tight end Gavin Escobar During his absence, he was replaced by rookie
undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
Jeff Heath John Geoffrey Heath (April 1, 1915 – December 9, 1975) was a Canadian-born American left fielder in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played most of his career for the Cleveland Indians. He was one of the American League's most promising power ...
. On November 24, 2013, Wilcox returned from his knee sprain and recorded four combined tackles in a 24–21 loss at the New York Giants. He left the game in the first quarter and was placed into the concussion protocol. He finished the year in a reserve role at free safety and had a total of 38 combined tackles (22 solo) and a pass deflection in 13 games and five starts.


2014

Wilcox competed with Jeff Heath and Ahmad Dixon in training camp for the starting free safety position. New defensive coordinator
Rod Marinelli Rodney Marinelli (born July 13, 1949) is an American football coach. He has been a defensive coach for several college and professional teams, serving primarily as a defensive line coach when he has not been a coordinator. From 2006 until 2008, ...
chose to move Heath and Wilcox to the strong safety role and veteran
Barry Church Barry Michael Church (born February 11, 1988) is a former American football strong safety. He played college football at the University of Toledo and signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Church has also played for ...
to free safety. He was named the starting strong safety by head coach Jason Garrett. On October 27, 2014, Wilcox collected seven solo tackles and made his first career interception off a pass attempt by Washington Redskins' quarterback
Colt McCoy Daniel "Colt" McCoy (born September 5, 1986) is an American football quarterback for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas, where he won several awards and honors as a senior in 2009. McC ...
during a 20–17 overtime loss. In Week 13, he recorded a season-high ten combined tackles in the Cowboys' 33–10 loss to the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
. On December 14, 2014, Wilcox made four solo tackles, forced a fumble, and (sacked?) Eagles' quarterback
Mark Sanchez Mark Travis John Sanchez (born November 11, 1986) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 10 seasons. He played college football at the University of Southern California (USC) and was draft ...
in their 38–27 victory. The following week, he made one solo tackle, deflected a pass, and intercepted a pass attempt by
Andrew Luck Andrew Austen Luck (born September 12, 1989) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for seven seasons with the Indianapolis Colts. One of the most highly touted amateur prospects during hi ...
as Dallas routed the Indianapolis Colts 42–7. The
Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divi ...
finished the season atop the NFC East with a 12–4 record. On January 4, 2015, Wilcox started his first career playoff game and recorded seven solo tackles in a 24-20 NFC Wildcard championship victory over the Detroit Lions. He also started the Cowboys' NFC divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers, but did not record a stat in their 26–21 loss. There was major controversy surrounding the ending of the game after Dez Bryant's 31-yard catch on a fourth and two was overturned after a challenge by Packers' head coach
Mike McCarthy Michael John McCarthy (born November 10, 1963) is an American football coach who is the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). From 2006 to 2018, he was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers. In 2011, he led t ...
. Referee Gene Steratore stated that Bryant did not maintain possession of the ball throughout the entirety of the catch. He started 16 games and was fourth on the team with 74 combined tackles (62 solo), three interceptions, four pass deflections, one forced and two fumble recoveries. He played in 94.4% of the Dallas Cowboys defensive snaps in 2014.


2015

In training camp, Wilcox competed with Jeff Heath for the starting free safety position with
Barry Church Barry Michael Church (born February 11, 1988) is a former American football strong safety. He played college football at the University of Toledo and signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Church has also played for ...
at strong safety. He won the job and was named the starter going into the regular season. Wilcox started the Dallas Cowboys' season-opener against The New York Giants and recorded three combined tackles and defended a pass in their 27–26 victory. During the first quarter, Wilcox delivered a vicious hit against Giants' wide receiver
Odell Beckham Jr. Odell Cornelious Beckham Jr. (born November 5, 1992), commonly known by his initials OBJ, is an American football wide receiver who is a free agent. Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Beckham played college football at LSU and was drafted by the ...
and successfully broke up a pass attempt by Eli Manning. Unfortunately, Wilcox suffered a broken nose on the play, but continued to play the remainder of the game while Beckham briefly left the game. The following week, the Cowboys matched up at the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
and Wilcox made a solo tackle and intercepted a pass attempt by
Sam Bradford Samuel Jacob Bradford (born November 8, 1987) is a former American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons, most notably with the St. Louis Rams and Minnesota Vikings. He was also a member of the ...
, as the Cowboys defeated them 20-10 On November 8, 2015, Wilcox collected seven combined tackles in a 33–27 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Wilcox suffered heavy criticism for a poor play that resulted in the Eagles winning in overtime. Philadelphia Eagles' quarterback Sam Bradford completed a pass to
Jordan Matthews Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Riv ...
who scored a 41-yard touchdown after Byron Jones stumbled and Wilcox took a poor angle while in pursuit. The following week, Wilcox was demoted to be the backup safety behind rookie Byron Jones, but returned as the starting free safety in Week 11 after Jones had to substitute for
Morris Claiborne Morris Lee Claiborne (born February 7, 1990) is a former American football cornerback. He played college football at Louisiana State University (LSU), where he won the Jim Thorpe Award as the best defensive back in the country and was unanimous ...
at
cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...
after suffering a
hamstring In human anatomy, a hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in between the hip and the knee (from medial to lateral: semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris). The hamstrings are susceptible to injury. In quadrupe ...
injury. On November 13, 2015, he earned a season-high ten combined tackles in a 28–7 loss to the Green Bay Packers. During a Week 17 matchup against the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, Wilcox recorded two solo tackles and had the first safety of his career in the Cowboys' 34–23 loss. Wilcox recorded the safety, along with
DeMarcus Lawrence DeMarcus Lawrence (born April 28, 1992) is an American football defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted by the Cowboys in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Bu ...
in the fourth quarter, stopping Redskin' running back Alfred Morris in the endzone. He recorded 53 combined tackles (37 solo), three pass deflections, an interception, and a forced fumble in 13 starts and 16 games. He also played 821 defensive snaps and in 77.7% of the Cowboys' defensive plays. During the , Wilcox began developing an identity for delivering hard hits, but also missing tackles.
Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...
ranked him 47th of 63 safeties in tackle efficiency. He also missed 2.6% of his tackles while in deep coverage and was ranked the 79th best overall safety, out of 89 who qualified, for the season.


2016

Wilcox entered training camp on the roster bubble after losing his starting free safety job to Byron Jones after a difficult 2015 season. The Dallas Cowboys also drafted a safety in
Kavon Frazier Kavon Frazier (born August 11, 1994) is a former American football safety. He played college football at Central Michigan University. Early years Frazier attended Grand Rapids Christian High School, where he practiced football, basketball and t ...
and had an upcoming and competent backup in Jeff Heath. Head coach Jason Garrett named Wilcox the backup strong safety to Barry Church to start the 2016 season. Due to the proven performance escalated that was placed in the 2011
Collective Bargaining Agreement A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...
, Wilcox base salary for was raised from $690,000 to $1.68 million. This was due to him playing in 45.2% of the defensive snaps in his first three seasons, above the required 35%. In Week 9, Wilcox returned to the starting lineup at the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
after
Barry Church Barry Michael Church (born February 11, 1988) is a former American football strong safety. He played college football at the University of Toledo and signed with the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent in 2010. Church has also played for ...
fractured his arm the game prior against the
Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
. He recorded three combined tackles in Dallas' 35–10 victory. On November 13, 2016, Wilcox earned a season-high nine combined tackles and deflected a pass in a 35–30 win against the Pittsburgh Steelers. During a Week 12 contest against the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...
, Wilcox recorded four solo tackles, but left the Cowboys' 31–26 victory after suffering a thigh contusion. The injury caused him to miss the next three games (Weeks 13–15). Wilcox returned in Week 16 and made three combined tackles, defended two passes, and intercepted a pass attempt by
Matthew Stafford John Matthew Stafford (born February 7, 1988) is an American football quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Georgia, where he was a first-team All-American, and was selected ...
during the Dallas Cowboys 42–21 defeat of the Detroit Lions. He finished the season with 49 combined tackles (37 solo), six pass deflections, and one interception in 13 games and four starts. Although Wilcox played a smaller role in the 2016 season, he was able to improve his play and his pass coverage ability.


Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On March 11, 2017, the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The cl ...
signed Wilcox to a two-year, $6.25 million contract with $3.12 million guaranteed. Throughout training camp, Wilcox competed with
Chris Conte Christopher Michael Conte (born February 23, 1989) is a former American football safety. He was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the third round of the 2011 NFL Draft. He played college football at California. Early life Conte attended Loy ...
, Keith Tandy, and Justin Evans for a job as one of the starting safeties, but struggled and was projected as a reserve player.


Pittsburgh Steelers

On September 3, the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired Wilcox in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to improve their depth at
safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...
, following injuries to
Jordan Dangerfield Jordan Isaac Aldon Dangerfield (born December 25, 1990) is an American football safety who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Towson and was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Buffalo Bills in 2013. Dangerfield has ...
and Mike Mitchell. The Pittsburgh Steelers traded their sixth-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft (
Jack Cichy Jack Cichy (born May 5, 1996) is a current American football coach and former linebacker. He played college football at Wisconsin Badgers football, Wisconsin. He was drafted in the sixth round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. ...
) for Wilcox and a seventh-round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft Wilcox became expendable after the Buccaneers signed coveted free agent T. J. Ward, who had been released by the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
the day prior in a cost-cutting measure. On September 7, it was reported that he agreed to restructure his contract he initially signed with the Buccaneers. The terms of his new contract are for two-years, $5.5 million deal with a $1.35 million signing bonus. This was done in order to open up more cap space for the season. Wilcox had $1.35 million of his base salary converted into a signing bonus and prorated it with the length of the contract. He was named the backup free safety to Mike Mitchell to begin the regular season. Wilcox made his Pittsburgh Steelers' debut in their season-opening 21–18 victory over the
Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...
and finished with two combined tackles. He delivered a helmet-to-helmet hit on Browns' wide receiver
Corey Coleman Corey Defians Coleman (born July 6, 1994) is an American football wide receiver for the Philadelphia Stars of the United States Football League (USFL). He played college football at Baylor and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the first ...
in the fourth quarter and was knocked unconscious in the process. The Pittsburgh Steelers received a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty and Wilcox was fined $24,309 by the NFL days later. He missed the following week after being diagnosed with a concussion. On September 24, he collected five combined tackles and intercepted
Mike Glennon Michael Joseph Glennon (born December 12, 1989) is an American football quarterback who is a free agent. He played college football at NC State and was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also p ...
for his first pick with the Steelers, as they lost 17–23 to the Chicago Bears. The following week, he made his first start as a member of the Steelers and finished with three solo tackles during a 26–9 victory over the
Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. The team plays it ...
. He appeared in 12 games (one start), making 12 tackles, one interception and one pass defensed. On April 30, 2018, Wilcox was released by the Steelers, after drafting two safeties in the 2018 NFL Draft and signing two safeties in free agency.


New York Jets

On June 6, 2018, Wilcox signed with the New York Jets. He was released by the team on October, 8 to make room for Rashard Robinson.


Indianapolis Colts

On December 18, 2018, Wilcox was signed by the Indianapolis Colts.


Atlanta Falcons

On April 22, 2019, Wilcox signed with the Atlanta Falcons. On July 22, 2019, he suffered a torn ACL in practice and was ruled out for the season. On August 9, 2020, Wilcox re-signed with the Falcons. He was released on September 5, 2020. He was re-signed to the practice squad on October 8, 2020. He was released on October 20.


Personal life

Wilcox was raised by his parents, James Wilcox Sr. and Marshell Wilcox, in Cairo, Georgia. His mother suffers from lupus and does oxygen therapy due to scarring on her
lungs The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side ...
. Due to her conditioning worsening, she had been using an oxygen machine full-time since 2010. Marshell also suffers from lung
sarcoidosis Sarcoidosis (also known as ''Besnier-Boeck-Schaumann disease'') is a disease involving abnormal collections of inflammatory cells that form lumps known as granulomata. The disease usually begins in the lungs, skin, or lymph nodes. Less commonly a ...
. During the 2013 NFL Draft, she was in the hospital with pneumonia. On August 13, 2013, his mother died. His father previously played running back for Fort Valley State and had an invitation to attend training camp with the
Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team p ...
.


References


External links


Still New To Position, Best Yet To Come For Wilcox
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilcox, J. J. Living people 1991 births People from Cairo, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) American football safeties Georgia Southern Eagles football players Dallas Cowboys players Tampa Bay Buccaneers players Pittsburgh Steelers players New York Jets players Indianapolis Colts players Atlanta Falcons players